I've been to tons of concerts but here are the standouts:


Tool - Mullins Center, Amherst, MA 2003 - Out of the hundred or so concerts I've been to in my life this was the first show that completely and utterly blew my mind and left me speechless. I've never seen anything so nasty and I probably won't until they come around again for a large venue U.S. tour.

Roger Waters Madison Sq Garden, NYC 2000 - 40% solo stuff, 60% Floyd. Unfortunately I didn't get to hear some of my favorite songs since they were written and performed by David Gilmour, but he did play DSOM in it's entirety and 5 or 6 songs from the Wall and Animals. He closed with Comfortably Numb with an incredibly choreographed light show behind him. He's coming to Boston this September and you can bet your ace I'll be there.

Dave Matthews Band Foxboro Stadium 2001 - We tailgated in a torrential downpour. Best tailgating experience of my life. Girls ripping their shirts off dancing in mud, making out with each other in every direction. I blacked out halfway through the show but from what I remember he was awesome.

Metallica - Foxboro Stadium 2000 - Summer Sanitarium tour. After watching Kid Rock and Korn play before them you could clearly see who were the men among the boys. Everything you've heard about Metallica live is true. They tear the walls down. End of story.

I gotta get back to work but I'll post my experiences at some other sick shows later on. I'm sure everyone has been to some sick concerts that they'd like to share... this is the place for it!


EDIT: I just scored tickets to see my favorite band, Alice in Chains, at the Avalon in Boston next month. Staley or no Staley, I have a feeling this one is going to be at the top of my list of all time PWNAGE shows.


EDIT 2: DOH!!! How could I forget Tom Petty last year at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA?? Incredible show! He played every song you wanted to hear and sounded awesome despite his age. He's still such a rock star... they just don't make them like him anymore. Not to mention he covered Dylan's "Knockin on Heaven's Door" and it gave me goosebumps. If a band can give me goosebumps thats how I know they rock.

1. Sonic Youth/Helium (Roseland Ballroom, NYC) - 1995: Opened with Teenage Riot closed with Schizophrenia. Unbelievable show, supporting their last good record as well.

2. Pavement (Irving Plaza, NYC) - 1999: Opened with Frontwards, also busted out some S&E tracks like Trigger Cut and In the Mouth a Desert. One of their last shows on the Brighten the Corners tour before they started mailing it in before the breakup.

3. Radiohead (Madison Square Garden, NYC) - 2003: No explanation necessary. Perhaps the most amazing live band I've ever seen.

4. Guided by Voices (Opera House, Toronto, ON Canada) 2003 - Pollard only got semi-drunk (for him anyway) so he was able to remember most of the songs.

5. Graham Smith/Lou Barlow (Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ) 2005 - I like em.

I have been to a lot of concerts, so can't remember them all....but among a few of the most memorable:

every Pearl Jam show I have seen

Radiohead & The Beta Band - Cuyahoga Falls, OH, 8/1/01

Widespread Panic & The Wailers - summer of `03 or `04, had 1st row on the floor

Beck & The Flaming Lips - Indy, `03

There are a ton of others but I'm too hopped up on Sudafed to remember all of them...

Yeah, this is tough.

I'm sure I'll forget stuff...

Radiohead/Beta Band - 8/01 - Grant Park, Chicago skyline in background.

Rufus Wainwright - 12/03 - Vic Theater, that boy will bring a tear to your eye.

Ash - 3/02 - Bowery Ballroom, NYC - one of my fav bands of all time, happened to be playing a rare show in NY while I was there for spring break, senior year of college. Bonus.

Fiona Apple - 12/05 - Riviera - Holy crap, she blew my mind

Beck - 9/05 - Riviera - he is a god-man.

Jon Brion - every Friday night at Largo in Hollywood, seriously, a genius. best small shows ever.

AC/DC Stiff Upper Lip tour Kansas City


Ozzfest Houston TX

Completely off topic for 'Great Concerts' thread, but I just got centre, floor tix for shakira yesterday, 10 rows back I think lol... I got these nifty binnoculars with a digital camera built in that I swiped from my sis, hopefully going to bring home some nice close up pics lol.

And if your wondering, it was actually my gf's idea...

Will post after...

You wanna know how I know you're....hmmm...confusing.

beware.. hobbes might steal your identity and go instead

i dont go to many concerts but the best ive been to is probly a Cake concert in Boston. mainly because it was free.

damn man... thats like saying: "Domino's is the best pizza I ever had because one time someone gave me a free slice"

you haven't lived

I love you like Don Giovanni love cake.

U2 in Cleveland back in December 05.

Totally awesome.

I saw Coldplay Summer 05 as well which was pretty sweet.

Oh, and that one time I went to a Thursday concert as a freshman and ended up in the hospital.

- Jordan

Bear with me because I'm 33.

Great White was always great in concert
Tesla

Tool- they were good but not mind blowing b/c the venue was too big.

A Perfect Circle- All three time, unreal, great shows.

Live- were great all 6 times I saw them, but once it was in a tiny place, that was awesome

The Fire Theft- You may have never heard of em, lead singer from Sunny Day Real Estate, of which you've probably never heard of. Awesome in a small club in Orlando

Cinderella- surprisingly good

The Cranberries- put on a very good show

Metallica- good, but they didn't play much from And Justice and thats what I wanted to hear. Good show though

I saw most of the hair bands in the 80's

Jimmy Eat World- I almost forgot. They were great

i do love Cake, it was a good concert, and even better cause it was free. thats all i meant. but youre right that i havent lived, i really need to get out and see some of my favorite bands play.

Good thread!!!

Radiohead - Sears Theatre, Toronto, 2000 (Kid A tour) Holy smokes! Great stuff and they played just about every Radiohead song I like. Many of the songs were sarcastically dedicated (eg: Airbag for Ford, etc).

Frank Zappa - Although I saw him 5 times in concert, the one that stands out is seeing him in Brussels, 1984, when I was backpacking around. Went down for an overnighter from Amsterdam and, boy, was I ever "equipped".

Danny Gatton - Montreal Jazz Festival, free show, 1993-ish. Absolutely amazing. Some of the best live guitar ever, using a beer bottle for a slide, kicking *** on a Telecaster. A year later, he killed himself.

Peter Gabriel - Always preferred him as Genesis front man, but never saw him with Genesis. 1983 was his third solo tour. Lights go down to a pounding, sinister drum beat. Handheld spots start creeping through the audience. It's the band! Slinking their way onstage, like thieves, they open the show with The Intruder. Great atmosphere.

There are so many more for me, being an oldtimer. I've seen over 150 big ticket shows, from Pink Floyd at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, 1977, right up to the Tragically Hip (great band!) last year at the ACC in Toronto.

Good times, if only I could remember them all lol.

Audio Slave - Chris Cornell did an acoustic solo version of Black Hole Sun that was incredible. The whole show was great.

I would have prefered to see Sound Garden or Rage, but this was the closest I will get. Many more shows to post later when I get time.

And it's not even close.

Two nights in a row, Madison Square Garden, literally front row center in the pit leaning against the fence. Best two nights of my life.

Dave Matthews Band - The Meadows, CT, Aug 2000 - Fantastic show. Perfect weather, hot women, and a hell of a songlist.

Aerosmith - The Meadows, CT, Oct 1998 - How can you not have fun at an Aerosmith concert? It rocked.

Boston Symphony Orchestra, "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff - Symphony Hall, 1990 - Sat in the fourth row. One of the most intense musical experiences I have ever had.

and not music, but....

Sam Kinison - South Short Music Circus, Sometime in 1990-1991 - Funniest thing I may have ever seen.

I saw Audioslave at Lollapalooza (Tweeter Center 03) and they pwned. Hearing Morello wail on that guitar live was an experience I won't soon forget. Also, they covered "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes and sounded 100x better than the original.



Also, I forgot to mention STP... I've seen them thrice and they were great. Scott W. was definetly on a cocktail of illegal substances each time I saw him and this contributed to his God Like presence on stage....he's completely insane and I love it.

Tool- 10/02 Incredible show. The visuals that went along with the music were incredible. Like CrackofmyAce, this show blew my mind. No show I've seen yet holds a candle to it.

A Perfect Circle/ Mars Volta- 4/04 Pretty small venue while they were on the Thirteenth Step tour. Great show. Maynard's vocals were outstanding, as was the setlist. Mars Volta's set was impressive as well.

Lolapallooza 03- Great show, even though I had one of the worst sunburns of my life afterwards. APC, Incubus, Audioslave (even though I'm not a fan it was still cool to see them), Jane's Addiction. The highlight of the show for me was watching Maynard sing "Kashmir" with the Jane's guys. He was literally reading the lyrics from a sheet of paper as he was singing.

AFI- 12/03 These guys put on one hell of a live show. Very high level of energy and great sound. Davey Havok is quite intense.

Red Hot Chili Peppers- Not much of a fan anymore, but they had a great live show as well. I was about 5 feet from the barrier on the floor and my friend and I kept yelling at John Frusciante, calling out his name and pointing. He just kept smiling at us, nodding and then doing incredible stuff on the guitar.

Dave Matthews. Red Rocks. Nuff said. And in Boulder. Pepsi Center shows, meh.

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jimmy Buffet @ Fiddlers Green.

Eagles at Mile High, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper @ Red Rocks.

holy crap, sunny day is the bomb. i would include the time i saw them right after they got back together in 1998 in my top 5 shows of all time.

jimmy eat world puts on an awesome show. saw them at a really small venue in chicago in 1997 before they blew up. i still like that band.

[quote name='Golden' date='Thursday, April 27th, 2006, 12:37 PM' post='1027297']

Aerosmith - The Meadows, CT, Oct 1998 - How can you not have fun at an Aerosmith concert? It rocked.


How about Aerosmith in their prime? I saw them in 1979 at the Montreal Forum. they opened with Back in the Saddle and never looked back. What a show. To top it off, the opener was Rick Derringer, whose blazing set threatened to upstage the headliners, but inspired them instead. Awesome.

Also...The Another Roadside Attraction festival tour with Tragically Hip as headliners. The Hip, Midnight Oil, Matthew Sweet and several others on one bill for, like $35 Canadian. Wow!

One more...Bob Dylan at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, 2002. Seeing a legend live with a superb backing band is quite a treat.

Metallica and Guns & Roses(Together, same concert) in Minneapolis early 90's.

My wife and I have been to about 12 KISS Concerts, all are just amazing shows.

Saw RATT front row center in a little club once which was just awesome.

Really enjoyed DMB, Van Halen, Poison, Skid Row, Motley Crue, and a few others recently.

Just bought my tickets today for Sammy Hagar and Def Leppard/Journey for this summer.

That'd be the tour that caused a huge riot at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Wasn't Faith No More the third band on the tour? They were the only ones who got through a full set at the Big O. James Hetfield's hair cought on fire and Axl walked offstage after 9 songs lol.

Thread winner. (so far)

Not just his hair, his face and arms were burnt from the explosion as well.

Holy 80's

80s ruled and you know it!

you've got enough hair on that list to overbook Great Cuts for two months

I saw GnR and Soundgarden on New Years Eve in 1990/1991


mk, did you ever get into The Fire Theft?

Its a great album. Sunny Day is great too

I saw BTO at a bike rally in 99 when I was still in college. We jumped a barb wire fence to get in for free and carried around a case of high life talking to bikers.

Prince -- Purple Rain tour (seriously)...1984 or so, Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Tom Cochrane with Jeff Healy Band opening...1996 i think..same venue.

The Tragically Hip, Air Canada Centre Toronto from a private box won in a radio contest...on my birthday...Dec 01.

wow.

I started listening to JEW back when I was a freshman in highschool (grad 03).

I saw JEW, Weezer, and get this, Jack Black's band...the name is on the tip of my tongue right now. bleh. Seriously, buggin me..

I also saw Sunny day back in my sophmore year I think. May have been freshman.

I used to be a HUGE JEW fan, but kinda grew outta it, some. I'm still a fan of them, but not as much as I was.

I saw HIM a few months ago. The lead singer didn't stop smoking once. It was interesting.

- Jordan

FYP gramps

Tenacious D

I think you just like typing JEW.

If you like Sunny Day, check out The Fire Theft. Little harder, same singer.

-Phish (too many great ones to be more specific)
-The Flaming Lips
-moe. halloween show w/ Charlie & Chocolate Factory theme---insane show
-Umphrey's McGee---(too many great ones to be mores specific)

Tool - After Lateralus. Good show.

Dillinger Escape Plan - Small venue. Very fun untill my friend got cut by a swinging guitar.

Slipknot - Hatebreed was there too. Only went to see slipknot though.

Taste of Chaos Tour - 2 weeks ago. 30 dollar tickets to see bands like Dredg, Deftones and Thrice. Best concert so far.

My brother went to the GNR/Metallica show at the LA Coloseum.

He got me a shirt, and a wore it until it fell apart.

Tea Party outdoors on mushrooms with a huge thunder storm approaching off to the side of the band. It was an incredible experience and the last time I did schrooms.

Pretenders -- NYC 1980 (I think)

U2 -- Joshua Tree Tour 1987

Stevie Ray Vaughn -- Stone Pony, Asbury Park NJ (two months before he died)

Prince -- Purple Rain (forget the year) at the Meadowlands in NJ (one of the best guitar players you'll ever see. I was very suprised how good this was.)

Live Aid -- Philadelphia 1986?

Nirvana -- Maxwells Hoboken NJ July 1989

Springsteen -- Giants Stadium 2003

Pearl Jam -- MSG 2003 Night 1

Guns N Roses/Metallica -- Early 90's I think...

Green Day -- Taj Mahal Atlantic City 2005

Wow, that's quite a resume there ! hard to compete with that.

Iron Maiden and Scorpions on the same bill when they were both in their prime.

Yeah, I saw this tour last summer too. Cornell's voice is amazing and I was totally ecstatic to hear that he can pull it off live too. They also did 'Bulls On Parade' and it was amazing.

Besides that Audioslave show, the 3 Tool shows I've seen have all been amazing. I gotta deviate from Ron Mex on this one though in that I enjoyed Tool MORE than APC.

I'm 42 and have always gone to tons of shows.

Later this month I'm taking my 13 year old son to see Cohhed & Cambria and Avenged Sevenfold in NYC and Bullet For My Valentine here at a club in Jersey.

I got to remember my ear plugs. Last club show I took him to my ears were ringing the next day...I'm gettin old.

Saw Bob Dylan in like 1998, awesome show.

Saw the Chili Peppers in like 1996, awesome ****ing show.

Best show I've seen was George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars in like 1993. They played for over 5 hours.

Extreme Steel Tour-Pantera/Slayer/Morbid Angel/Static-X/and a couple others I can't remember. Fukin loud and crazy, how I managed to pass out is beyond me.

Garnes

Pink Floyd-momentary lapse of reason
Roger Waters-radio kaos
ratm-multiple times
Ice t-power, really good live, small room
Anthrax
Metallica-before they sold out
U2-joshua tree
rhcp-multiple
nin-mutiple
pearl jam-multiple
Sunsplash-reggae festival

Used to work in the industry, so about a good hundred or more

Rofl